I didn't have a cooking lesson on the weekend, unfortunately, as I was away. However, I can tell you about the varoma demo I had last Thursday.
As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, the varoma is the steamer part of the TM. It consists of a deep lower tray, with holes in the bottom, a shallower top tray, also with holes, and a lid. It sits on top of the TM bowl, and the food in the 2 trays is cooked by way of steam from the boiling liquid in the bowl.
E ran the demo, which was part demonstration, and part cooking class for me. I had cut the chicken and pumpkin into cubes, which would be used to make a salad with cuscus and salad vegies. I had no idea that it was so hard to peel pumpkin! E showed me how to place these in the bottom tray of the varoma, spreading the meat and pumpkin out so they could cook evenly.
Then, E wet some kitchen paper, and I squeezed it out and put it in the top tray. I thought this would cover all the holes, but there are some around the rim of the top tray, and E showed me how to tear the corners from the paper so that these holes wouldn't be covered. Then E put some cuscus into the top tray, which I spread out. We then set the varoma aside for later.
When everyone arived, E made an amazing softserve using berries, sugar and an egg white. Delicious, and just like icecream. I was surprised at just how noisy the TM was when it was chopping the frozen berries.
This was followed by the most amazing sundried tomato and kashew dip, half of which was made into a dressing for the salad.
E then made some pizza dough, half of which is now in my freezer for me to make a pizza of my own! E got me to press out the dough once it had risen, which was great. I loved the feel of the slightly elastic dough, and the smell of the yeast. It reminded me of when I made bread at school - the only cooking lesson I enjoyed. Of course, I was worried that the dough wasn't exactly the same thickness all over, and wasn't perfectly round. Lovely E just said that it was home cooked and that cooking wasn't an exact science - 2 things I like hearing and am actually starting to believe. We baked the dough with garlic and rosemary on top, which was delicious, and smelt fantastic!
Next, E made a chickpea and vegetable soup, which would cook at the same time the varoma was steaming on top of the TM. Half way through the cooking time, E got me to give the bottom tray of the varoma a stir. I was a bit worried about the steam, but it was all fine. I was able to put the top tray on the bottom one, put the lid on, and put the assembled varoma back on the TM. Not scary at all!
After the soup and salad were cooked, E showed me how to use salad servers to mix the salad. I'd never done this, believe it or not, as I never made a mixed salad before getting the TM, as I don't really like the classic garden salad. The salad was absolutely delicious, and so was the soup!
Then it was my turn. I had to make the cupcake batter. This was an amazing batter of eggs, flour, sugar, lemon rind, and coconut milk. I couldn't get over how fast the butter and sugar creamed together. I have horrible memories of standing trying unsuccessfully to cream butter and sugar at school. This was so easy! It was also amazing how the batter came together in seconds, with no fuss, and very little mess. I think I'll have to use a spatula though to scrape down the sides of the bowl next time, as the batter was very sticky and messy to touch.
I then had the task of filling E's adorable little silicon patty pans - I want some! As usual, I worried that they wouldn't all be filled to the same amount, and E gave her usual advice about home cooking. She's so good for me, as she makes everything OK!
After some time, I got all the patty pans filled, and into the varoma on top of the TM. In 20 minutes they were cooked. E made a lovely syrup from lemon juice, sugar and water, which she poured over the cupcakes. They were absolutely divine! Actually they were more like steamed puddings than cupcakes.
I finished off the evening by frothing the milk for everyone's coffee. I just followed the instructions in the EDC, and it worked perfectly.
I was able to get the Steming Ahead cookbook for half price, and was able to buy a carry bag for the TM at a discounted price. A great success! I can't wait to steam something now!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Big cooking day
Today's post will be a longer one. I tried to set up e-mail blogging, and sent through 3 posts yesterday, but none of them worked. So today's post will be the combination of all 3 of yesterday's.
I had a bit of a hitch with Saturday's rendang. Just after I finished typing my last post, I went over to the TM to check how things were going by way of a sneaky sniff. Just as I placed my hand on the TM, it stopped working and started beeping (not in it's usual "I've finished" way either). I turned it off and then on again, and it continued beeping. It was then that I realised that the TM bowl wasn't hot.
In a pannic, I phoned my Mum and asked her to come over, as she only lives a few minutes away. When Mum got there, she said that the TM was displaying "LOAd" on the display. I told her about the bowl not being hot, and she checked the meat and discovered that it was still raw! I obviously had forgotten to put in the temperature, and the TM had been happily mixing the raw Rendang for 40 minutes! I later read in the instruction manual that this happened when there was too much in the bowl. This is to rpevent the motor from overheating. While I didn't have too much in the bowl as I had followed the recipe, I suppose the TM objected to mixing raw meat for 40 minutes.
We decided to take the TM over to Mum's place, as that is where we would be eating the Rendang. I would have another go at cooking it there. Everything else when uneventfully, and the Rendang, once cooked, was really nice.
Yesterday afternoon was another big cooking afternoon. I started with the beetroot salad out of the EDC. I wasn't even sure whether I liked raw beetroot, but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.
I didn't have half the ingredients (the coriander, carrot and apple), so decided to experiment and use cellery and cabbage.
The recipe said to peel the beetroot, which I did. It reminded me a bit of peeling a potato. The recipe said to quarter the beetroot, but didn't say anything about whether to cut off the top and bottom of the beetroot. After peeling the beetroot, I decided to cut off the top and bottom, as they were kind of hard and chunky. As you can probably tell, I'm not very familiar with raw beetroot, as I've mainly eaten the canned stuff.
As with the coleslaw, I put in all the ingredients, chopped them for a few seconds, scraped down the side of the bowl with my fingers (I've found this works better than using the spatula), and chopped again. The result was delicious! Surprisingly delicious!
I decided that I wanted to cook some dishes that I could eat during the week. I thought that it was all well and good cooking for friends, but it was frustrating when there were no leftovers for me to have during the week, as the point of getting the TM was to cook for myself.
After some discussion with Mum on the phone, we decided that I should cook Chilli Con Carne, and Beef Goulash. Mum bought all the ingredients and came over, as I also wanted her to help me label my modular mates (tupperware containers for the pantry).
The Chilli Con Carne was so easy! It only took about 15 minutes to make, and was really just a matter of adding everything and cooking it. The only hitch was that Mum had bought whole canned tomatoes, which the recipe asked for. At the end of the cooking process, these were still whole. I don't really like whole tomatoes, so decided to whis the Con Carne up in the TM for a few seconds. Alas, I ended up with Chilli Con Carne pure! Oh well, it will still taste good on rice.
I had varying success scraping out the TM bowl with the spatula. I seemed to do a lot of scraping, but still had food left in the bowl. I decided to see what would happened if I scraped out the bowl with my hand, wearing a silicon potmit. This is quite hygenic, as it can go in the dishwasher afterwards. It seemed to work, although the Con Carne mostly poured out of the bowl anyway. I'll give this a go with something else, and report on the results.
Next, I moved on to the Beef Goulash. This was much more complicated, as it had many more ingredients. I didn't have any of the herbs or spices, so used Mum's. I expect I'll get more of a collection of these as I cook. Mum did help a bit with this one, by measuring the spices, and preparing the lemon rind. I think it would have taken me twice as long if she hadn't! It was a good lesson though in measuring the ingredients and laying them all out at the start, rather than measuring them as they are needed. It turned out really well.
One thing that did happen though, much to Mum's amusement and my discomfort, was that, while the 300 grams of onion were sauteing in the butter for the Goulash, I decided to take off the measuring cup and have a sneaky sniff. I'd done this in the past, and had really enjoyed the aroma of the frying onion. Unfortunately, this time, my sniff was a bit enthusiastic and I got a nose full of onion gasses! I coughed and sneezed, and my eyes streamed. I suppose it serves me right, as I bent right over the TM and just about put my nose in the hole in the middle of the lid! I won't do that again!
While the Goulash was cooking, Mum helped me to label my modular mates. For those not familiar with Tupperware, these are containers of varient shapes and sizes, designed to keep dry ingredients in the pantry. I discovered ingredients I didn't know aI had, and trew away some I would never use again. Now I have empty containers for all the new ingredients I will need with all this cooking I'm going to do!
At the end of the cooking and labelling, I was exhausted again! I hope it will get to a point soon where I don't feel this way after an afternoon of cooking. It's a really good type of exhausted though, and I finished with a real sense of achievement. I really think of the TM as my good friend, as it does all the hard things that I don't want to do, like chopping, and stirring hot ingredients. I'm really enjoying getting to know it better.
I had a bit of a hitch with Saturday's rendang. Just after I finished typing my last post, I went over to the TM to check how things were going by way of a sneaky sniff. Just as I placed my hand on the TM, it stopped working and started beeping (not in it's usual "I've finished" way either). I turned it off and then on again, and it continued beeping. It was then that I realised that the TM bowl wasn't hot.
In a pannic, I phoned my Mum and asked her to come over, as she only lives a few minutes away. When Mum got there, she said that the TM was displaying "LOAd" on the display. I told her about the bowl not being hot, and she checked the meat and discovered that it was still raw! I obviously had forgotten to put in the temperature, and the TM had been happily mixing the raw Rendang for 40 minutes! I later read in the instruction manual that this happened when there was too much in the bowl. This is to rpevent the motor from overheating. While I didn't have too much in the bowl as I had followed the recipe, I suppose the TM objected to mixing raw meat for 40 minutes.
We decided to take the TM over to Mum's place, as that is where we would be eating the Rendang. I would have another go at cooking it there. Everything else when uneventfully, and the Rendang, once cooked, was really nice.
Yesterday afternoon was another big cooking afternoon. I started with the beetroot salad out of the EDC. I wasn't even sure whether I liked raw beetroot, but it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.
I didn't have half the ingredients (the coriander, carrot and apple), so decided to experiment and use cellery and cabbage.
The recipe said to peel the beetroot, which I did. It reminded me a bit of peeling a potato. The recipe said to quarter the beetroot, but didn't say anything about whether to cut off the top and bottom of the beetroot. After peeling the beetroot, I decided to cut off the top and bottom, as they were kind of hard and chunky. As you can probably tell, I'm not very familiar with raw beetroot, as I've mainly eaten the canned stuff.
As with the coleslaw, I put in all the ingredients, chopped them for a few seconds, scraped down the side of the bowl with my fingers (I've found this works better than using the spatula), and chopped again. The result was delicious! Surprisingly delicious!
I decided that I wanted to cook some dishes that I could eat during the week. I thought that it was all well and good cooking for friends, but it was frustrating when there were no leftovers for me to have during the week, as the point of getting the TM was to cook for myself.
After some discussion with Mum on the phone, we decided that I should cook Chilli Con Carne, and Beef Goulash. Mum bought all the ingredients and came over, as I also wanted her to help me label my modular mates (tupperware containers for the pantry).
The Chilli Con Carne was so easy! It only took about 15 minutes to make, and was really just a matter of adding everything and cooking it. The only hitch was that Mum had bought whole canned tomatoes, which the recipe asked for. At the end of the cooking process, these were still whole. I don't really like whole tomatoes, so decided to whis the Con Carne up in the TM for a few seconds. Alas, I ended up with Chilli Con Carne pure! Oh well, it will still taste good on rice.
I had varying success scraping out the TM bowl with the spatula. I seemed to do a lot of scraping, but still had food left in the bowl. I decided to see what would happened if I scraped out the bowl with my hand, wearing a silicon potmit. This is quite hygenic, as it can go in the dishwasher afterwards. It seemed to work, although the Con Carne mostly poured out of the bowl anyway. I'll give this a go with something else, and report on the results.
Next, I moved on to the Beef Goulash. This was much more complicated, as it had many more ingredients. I didn't have any of the herbs or spices, so used Mum's. I expect I'll get more of a collection of these as I cook. Mum did help a bit with this one, by measuring the spices, and preparing the lemon rind. I think it would have taken me twice as long if she hadn't! It was a good lesson though in measuring the ingredients and laying them all out at the start, rather than measuring them as they are needed. It turned out really well.
One thing that did happen though, much to Mum's amusement and my discomfort, was that, while the 300 grams of onion were sauteing in the butter for the Goulash, I decided to take off the measuring cup and have a sneaky sniff. I'd done this in the past, and had really enjoyed the aroma of the frying onion. Unfortunately, this time, my sniff was a bit enthusiastic and I got a nose full of onion gasses! I coughed and sneezed, and my eyes streamed. I suppose it serves me right, as I bent right over the TM and just about put my nose in the hole in the middle of the lid! I won't do that again!
While the Goulash was cooking, Mum helped me to label my modular mates. For those not familiar with Tupperware, these are containers of varient shapes and sizes, designed to keep dry ingredients in the pantry. I discovered ingredients I didn't know aI had, and trew away some I would never use again. Now I have empty containers for all the new ingredients I will need with all this cooking I'm going to do!
At the end of the cooking and labelling, I was exhausted again! I hope it will get to a point soon where I don't feel this way after an afternoon of cooking. It's a really good type of exhausted though, and I finished with a real sense of achievement. I really think of the TM as my good friend, as it does all the hard things that I don't want to do, like chopping, and stirring hot ingredients. I'm really enjoying getting to know it better.
Friday, February 18, 2011
My second meal - Beef Rendang
Today I'm cooking Beef Rendang. E brought some for me to taste before I bought the TM. Hers was so good, that I thought I'd have to make some for myself.
So, Mum and I went shopping to buy all the things I'd need. It was fun trying to find chilies, ground cloves, bay leaves, and a whole heap of other things I didn't have. We couldn't find ground cloves, so I bought a small jar of whole cloves to grind up in the TM. The coconutty smell of the cooking rendang is finding its way into the lounge room as I type this blog!
Anyway, back to the shopping. We couldn't find fresh bay leaves so we bought a packet of dried ones. I had no idea that these came in a packet. The chilies were also tricky. I had no idea that they came in all sorts of sizes, loose, and in packets. We had to get a large one, so settled on a large squat chili.
The cooking went quite smoothly. It was great to smell the different spices as I put them in, although I think that tumeric smells and tastes disgusting! Although I'm sure it will add something special of its own to the dish. The hardest thing was measuring the coconut milk. I wish these recipes had measurements as well as weights. I'll have to find a website somewhere to find out how much stuff weighs, as I forgot to check the measuring jug to see how much coconut milk I used. Also, the cloves took a surprisingly long time to grind up.
Before I started, I told Mum that I wanted to cook this dish alone, as I will never gain confidence in the kitchen if I always cook when there is someone there. However, I think she was worried about me, as she wouldn't leave!
She didn't help me at all though, so I suppose that's OK. At least I'll be able to do it entirely by myself next time. I have half a can of coconut milk left, so I'll have to make some more rendang, or something else.
Actually, it's probably a good thing she did stay. Remember the hili I mentioned earlier? Well, it wasn't a chili, but a very small capsicum! So, I was able to dispatch Mum off to the shop to get a chili.
I'm glad that cooking isn't an exact science most of the time. E told me this when I used her TM to make the stir fry. I'm not very good at measuring things. The manufacturers of the spice containers don't make it very easy either buy putting the spices in bottles with tiny holes ikn the top, which are too small for me to fit my measuring spoon into. Oh well, now I've found a use for my Tupperware spice containers.
So, Mum and I went shopping to buy all the things I'd need. It was fun trying to find chilies, ground cloves, bay leaves, and a whole heap of other things I didn't have. We couldn't find ground cloves, so I bought a small jar of whole cloves to grind up in the TM. The coconutty smell of the cooking rendang is finding its way into the lounge room as I type this blog!
Anyway, back to the shopping. We couldn't find fresh bay leaves so we bought a packet of dried ones. I had no idea that these came in a packet. The chilies were also tricky. I had no idea that they came in all sorts of sizes, loose, and in packets. We had to get a large one, so settled on a large squat chili.
The cooking went quite smoothly. It was great to smell the different spices as I put them in, although I think that tumeric smells and tastes disgusting! Although I'm sure it will add something special of its own to the dish. The hardest thing was measuring the coconut milk. I wish these recipes had measurements as well as weights. I'll have to find a website somewhere to find out how much stuff weighs, as I forgot to check the measuring jug to see how much coconut milk I used. Also, the cloves took a surprisingly long time to grind up.
Before I started, I told Mum that I wanted to cook this dish alone, as I will never gain confidence in the kitchen if I always cook when there is someone there. However, I think she was worried about me, as she wouldn't leave!
She didn't help me at all though, so I suppose that's OK. At least I'll be able to do it entirely by myself next time. I have half a can of coconut milk left, so I'll have to make some more rendang, or something else.
Actually, it's probably a good thing she did stay. Remember the hili I mentioned earlier? Well, it wasn't a chili, but a very small capsicum! So, I was able to dispatch Mum off to the shop to get a chili.
I'm glad that cooking isn't an exact science most of the time. E told me this when I used her TM to make the stir fry. I'm not very good at measuring things. The manufacturers of the spice containers don't make it very easy either buy putting the spices in bottles with tiny holes ikn the top, which are too small for me to fit my measuring spoon into. Oh well, now I've found a use for my Tupperware spice containers.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Hard boiled eggs again - my first cooking alone
I cooked 4 hard boiled eggs this morning. This was my first attempt at cooking with noone else in the house. With all my other cooking attempts, either my mother or E was in the house for moral support.
Everything went really well. I even got the basket out without difficulty. The basket has no handle, but has a verticle ridge running up the insideat one point. At the top of the ridge is a small hole. On the TM spatula is a hook which fits into this hole and can be used to lift the basket out of the TM.
I located the vertical ridge by running the spatula around the inside of the basket near the top. I then used the spatula to turn the basket until the ridge was in line with the handle of the bowl. I located the hole with quick taps of my index finger, and was able to get the hook of the spatula in the hole on only my second try! No potmits required!
The last time I tried to cook hard boiled eggs in my egg cooker, I shook like crazy, and hated every minute of it. It is one of those cookers where you put the eggs in holes in a plastic stand that sits in the egg cooker. You put a measured amount of water in the bottom, and it makes a nasty high pitched screech when the water has evaporated, which signifies that the eggs are cooked. I had to prick the eggs to stop the shells from cracking (a process which always made me worry that I'd break the eggs), and measure exactly the right amount of water into the egg cooker. Despite pricking the eggs, the eggs would always crack, and the egg would drip on to the hot part of the cooker, which would make a horrible smell, and a sizzling sound which I hated. Everything was also really hot.
It was so nice to cook something on my own without fear or anxiety. I know it's only hard boiled eggs, but it's a good start. Bye-bye egg cooker!
Everything went really well. I even got the basket out without difficulty. The basket has no handle, but has a verticle ridge running up the insideat one point. At the top of the ridge is a small hole. On the TM spatula is a hook which fits into this hole and can be used to lift the basket out of the TM.
I located the vertical ridge by running the spatula around the inside of the basket near the top. I then used the spatula to turn the basket until the ridge was in line with the handle of the bowl. I located the hole with quick taps of my index finger, and was able to get the hook of the spatula in the hole on only my second try! No potmits required!
The last time I tried to cook hard boiled eggs in my egg cooker, I shook like crazy, and hated every minute of it. It is one of those cookers where you put the eggs in holes in a plastic stand that sits in the egg cooker. You put a measured amount of water in the bottom, and it makes a nasty high pitched screech when the water has evaporated, which signifies that the eggs are cooked. I had to prick the eggs to stop the shells from cracking (a process which always made me worry that I'd break the eggs), and measure exactly the right amount of water into the egg cooker. Despite pricking the eggs, the eggs would always crack, and the egg would drip on to the hot part of the cooker, which would make a horrible smell, and a sizzling sound which I hated. Everything was also really hot.
It was so nice to cook something on my own without fear or anxiety. I know it's only hard boiled eggs, but it's a good start. Bye-bye egg cooker!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Banana smoothie and some thoughts
This morning, I decided to make a banana smoothie in the TM. It didn't really turn out like a banana smoothie but banana liquid, but that was actually really good, as it was easier to drink.
I started with 2 scoops of BodyTrim Chocolate protein powder, which I added to the TM with 250 ml of water. I mixed this at speed for for about 5 seconds. It combined perfectly! I should say that usually when I try to mix protein powder with water using my other mixers, the result isn't good. The powder seems to line the container I'm mixing in, and sets like concrete if I don't wash it out properly.
Then I added a banana and a couple of ice cubes, and mixed on speed 4 for about 5 seconds. This resulted in liquid with a few small bits of banana and ice in the bottom, so I threw caution to the wind and mixed on speed 7 for about 5 seconds. The smoothie had turned into 2 glasses of slightly frothy liquid. Really nice!
There are many features which make the TM really easy to use. The buttons are all different shapes, and beep when you press them. They are also nice rubber buttons which need a good press to work. The bowl is marked inside at half litre intervals with dots, and there are also vertical strokes at the 1 and 2 litre marks.
The only function of the TM I can't use are the scales. This isn't too much of a problem, as I have talking scales. I also have to be careful with the reverse function, used to make the blades turn the other way so that they stir rather than chop, as I have no way of telling whether this is on or off. The machine just beeps once every time I press the button. I've asked E to pass on to Thermomix Australia that it might be worth making the machine beep once when reverse is turned on and twice when it is turned off.
The spatula that comes with the TM is really good too. It has a disk at the top which means that you can push the spatula down through the hole in the lid only so far. This means that it is safe to poke around with the spatula while the TM is going, as it is impossible to touch the blades with the spatula.
Everything that comes apart has grooves to fit together which makes the TM very easy to assemble. All in all, a really nice machine.
I started with 2 scoops of BodyTrim Chocolate protein powder, which I added to the TM with 250 ml of water. I mixed this at speed for for about 5 seconds. It combined perfectly! I should say that usually when I try to mix protein powder with water using my other mixers, the result isn't good. The powder seems to line the container I'm mixing in, and sets like concrete if I don't wash it out properly.
Then I added a banana and a couple of ice cubes, and mixed on speed 4 for about 5 seconds. This resulted in liquid with a few small bits of banana and ice in the bottom, so I threw caution to the wind and mixed on speed 7 for about 5 seconds. The smoothie had turned into 2 glasses of slightly frothy liquid. Really nice!
There are many features which make the TM really easy to use. The buttons are all different shapes, and beep when you press them. They are also nice rubber buttons which need a good press to work. The bowl is marked inside at half litre intervals with dots, and there are also vertical strokes at the 1 and 2 litre marks.
The only function of the TM I can't use are the scales. This isn't too much of a problem, as I have talking scales. I also have to be careful with the reverse function, used to make the blades turn the other way so that they stir rather than chop, as I have no way of telling whether this is on or off. The machine just beeps once every time I press the button. I've asked E to pass on to Thermomix Australia that it might be worth making the machine beep once when reverse is turned on and twice when it is turned off.
The spatula that comes with the TM is really good too. It has a disk at the top which means that you can push the spatula down through the hole in the lid only so far. This means that it is safe to poke around with the spatula while the TM is going, as it is impossible to touch the blades with the spatula.
Everything that comes apart has grooves to fit together which makes the TM very easy to assemble. All in all, a really nice machine.
My first meal - shepherd's pie and chocolate custard
I had a big tm day today. It started with a back to basics class which was great. During the class, the consultants cooked a large range of dishes, including sorbet, bread, dip, soup, 2 salada and custard. It was a really good way to cement what I had learnt at my TM demo.
Then, it was off to the supermarket and then home to cook dinner for my parents and a friend. When I offered yesterday to cook for my parents tonight, they laughed! I suppose this is fare enough, as I usually won't cook for myself, let alone anyone else.
My Dad chose the italian style shepherd's pie from the Every Day Cookbook (EDC) which came free with the TM. I also decided to cook chocolate custard, as I had had 2 goes at cooking custard, and I like chocolate. I also decided to hard boil 4 eggs for snacks during the coming week, and make some coleslaw for lunches.
The eggs went well. They were the easiest hard boiled eggs I'd ever cooked. All I did was put the eggs into the basket which fits inside the TM bowl on top of the blades, put 500 mls of water into the bowl, and cook for 14 minutes. The only tricky bit was getting the basket out of the bowl with the hook on the spatula. After 14 minutes of boiling, the bowl was quite hot, and it was hard to find the small hole in the basket without touching it. I might try with potmits next time and dispense with the spatula all together. I'll have to experiment a bit.
Then it was on to preparation of the ingredients for the meat sauce and the potatoes. This wasn't too hard as it just involved chopping the ingredients, and peeling those that needed peeling. I also decided to mince my own meat (because I can). This was easy. I just put in the cut up meat and pulsed it a few time. Perfect mince!
Cooking the sauce was easy. I just followed the recipe. I chopped the vegetables, and then added some oil I set the temperature and time specified in the recipe, and sauted them. The smell was Great.
Then I added the meat and, 5 minutes later, the wine. I was supposed to add 50 ml of wine, just over a tablespoon. I poured the wine into a tablespoon, and then added a bit more. Later, I remembered that the measuring cup that comes with the TM is 100 ml, and there is a nice raised line half way up. I could have used that! Something to remember for next time.
5 minutes later, I added the remaining ingredients. Then I had 15 minutes to sit down and rest while the sauce was cooking.
I was running really late, so felt a bit stressed when my Mum returned with my Dad, and the other guest arrived. (mum had been with me as I was preparing the ingredients, and starting off the saude, as I had wanted her there for moral support.)
Then it was on to the potatoes. I grated the chees in the TM which only took a few seconds. I put this aside for later, and cooked the potatoes. The recipe said to add 250 g of milk, which I measured out to 250 ml in the measuring jug. The potatoes ended up being a bit wet for me, so perhaps I'll use a little less milk next time. Maybe it was the variety of potatoes I used, I don't know. I'll go on the forum tomorrow and check.
I'm really not very good at scraping bowls. The meat sauce came out OK, but I found it hard to get all the mashed potato out of the TM bowl. More practice, I suppose.
While the pie was cooking in the oven, I made the coleslaw. This was the easiest part, as all I had to do was put all the ingredients into the TM bowl and chop. It turned out really well. I think I might put a bit more lemon juice on when I dish out a serve to take to work tomorrow. The recipe said juice of half a lemon. I couldn't be bothered doing that, so bought one of those squeeze bottles of lemon juice. I put 2 healthy squeezes in, but this wasn't quite enough. Maybel I'll measure it in tablespoons next time.
The pie was cooked, and we ate. It was really good. My guests liked it as well. That makes 2 nice tasting things I've cooked within a week! (the stock will be really nice in recipes, but is way too salty on its own, so doesn't really count.)
Then it was on to the custard. I realised that I had run out of sugar, so had to use splender. The packet says to use the splender exactly the same way as sugar, i.e spoon for spoon. However the TM recipes use weights rather than measurements, so I wasn't shure whether I should use the same amount. I put 2 tablespoons of splender in, and hoped for the best.
Making a lot of mess, I weighed out the cornflour and cocoa into a bowl on my talking scales and put them aside. I put the eggs and milk into the bowl, set the time, temperature and speed and then started cooking. 3 minutes in, mum eclaimed "you haven't added the flour!". I stopped the TM, added in the four, and then cooked for a further 5 minutes. I was convinced that the custard wouldn't turn out, but it did!! It was a bit thicker than the last one I made, but it tasted great! I'm glad I didn't put any more than 2 tablespoons of splender, as it was quite sweet enough.
All in all, it was a great first experience. However, I'm absolutely exhausted! I think I'll have to work up to this cooking caper gradually. On the positive side, the only bits I found really hard were the scraping out for each dish. There weren't any real problems with heat, and I wasn't afraid at any time. I'm so happy I bought a TM.
Then, it was off to the supermarket and then home to cook dinner for my parents and a friend. When I offered yesterday to cook for my parents tonight, they laughed! I suppose this is fare enough, as I usually won't cook for myself, let alone anyone else.
My Dad chose the italian style shepherd's pie from the Every Day Cookbook (EDC) which came free with the TM. I also decided to cook chocolate custard, as I had had 2 goes at cooking custard, and I like chocolate. I also decided to hard boil 4 eggs for snacks during the coming week, and make some coleslaw for lunches.
The eggs went well. They were the easiest hard boiled eggs I'd ever cooked. All I did was put the eggs into the basket which fits inside the TM bowl on top of the blades, put 500 mls of water into the bowl, and cook for 14 minutes. The only tricky bit was getting the basket out of the bowl with the hook on the spatula. After 14 minutes of boiling, the bowl was quite hot, and it was hard to find the small hole in the basket without touching it. I might try with potmits next time and dispense with the spatula all together. I'll have to experiment a bit.
Then it was on to preparation of the ingredients for the meat sauce and the potatoes. This wasn't too hard as it just involved chopping the ingredients, and peeling those that needed peeling. I also decided to mince my own meat (because I can). This was easy. I just put in the cut up meat and pulsed it a few time. Perfect mince!
Cooking the sauce was easy. I just followed the recipe. I chopped the vegetables, and then added some oil I set the temperature and time specified in the recipe, and sauted them. The smell was Great.
Then I added the meat and, 5 minutes later, the wine. I was supposed to add 50 ml of wine, just over a tablespoon. I poured the wine into a tablespoon, and then added a bit more. Later, I remembered that the measuring cup that comes with the TM is 100 ml, and there is a nice raised line half way up. I could have used that! Something to remember for next time.
5 minutes later, I added the remaining ingredients. Then I had 15 minutes to sit down and rest while the sauce was cooking.
I was running really late, so felt a bit stressed when my Mum returned with my Dad, and the other guest arrived. (mum had been with me as I was preparing the ingredients, and starting off the saude, as I had wanted her there for moral support.)
Then it was on to the potatoes. I grated the chees in the TM which only took a few seconds. I put this aside for later, and cooked the potatoes. The recipe said to add 250 g of milk, which I measured out to 250 ml in the measuring jug. The potatoes ended up being a bit wet for me, so perhaps I'll use a little less milk next time. Maybe it was the variety of potatoes I used, I don't know. I'll go on the forum tomorrow and check.
I'm really not very good at scraping bowls. The meat sauce came out OK, but I found it hard to get all the mashed potato out of the TM bowl. More practice, I suppose.
While the pie was cooking in the oven, I made the coleslaw. This was the easiest part, as all I had to do was put all the ingredients into the TM bowl and chop. It turned out really well. I think I might put a bit more lemon juice on when I dish out a serve to take to work tomorrow. The recipe said juice of half a lemon. I couldn't be bothered doing that, so bought one of those squeeze bottles of lemon juice. I put 2 healthy squeezes in, but this wasn't quite enough. Maybel I'll measure it in tablespoons next time.
The pie was cooked, and we ate. It was really good. My guests liked it as well. That makes 2 nice tasting things I've cooked within a week! (the stock will be really nice in recipes, but is way too salty on its own, so doesn't really count.)
Then it was on to the custard. I realised that I had run out of sugar, so had to use splender. The packet says to use the splender exactly the same way as sugar, i.e spoon for spoon. However the TM recipes use weights rather than measurements, so I wasn't shure whether I should use the same amount. I put 2 tablespoons of splender in, and hoped for the best.
Making a lot of mess, I weighed out the cornflour and cocoa into a bowl on my talking scales and put them aside. I put the eggs and milk into the bowl, set the time, temperature and speed and then started cooking. 3 minutes in, mum eclaimed "you haven't added the flour!". I stopped the TM, added in the four, and then cooked for a further 5 minutes. I was convinced that the custard wouldn't turn out, but it did!! It was a bit thicker than the last one I made, but it tasted great! I'm glad I didn't put any more than 2 tablespoons of splender, as it was quite sweet enough.
All in all, it was a great first experience. However, I'm absolutely exhausted! I think I'll have to work up to this cooking caper gradually. On the positive side, the only bits I found really hard were the scraping out for each dish. There weren't any real problems with heat, and I wasn't afraid at any time. I'm so happy I bought a TM.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
It has arrived!!!
Yesterday, my tm arrived! I was so excited all day Friday that I douldn't think of anything else. E came over, and we made the mostt amazing stock concentrate from the Everyday Cookook (EDC). The smell went right through the house!
Monday, February 7, 2011
What this blog is not
This blog will not be a collection of delicious and exotic recipes. There are plenty of other blogs out there for that, and some extremely good forums. It will primarily contain my experiences learning to cook with the TM.
I do hope, though, that it might help anyone else who has a disability and who cannot cook.
I also hope that, down the track, once I have developed my skills with the TM, I may be able to add a few recipes of my own, adapted for the TM.
I do hope, though, that it might help anyone else who has a disability and who cannot cook.
I also hope that, down the track, once I have developed my skills with the TM, I may be able to add a few recipes of my own, adapted for the TM.
Introduction
This blog will detail my journey learning to cook with the Thermomix. For those who don't know what a Thermomix (or TM for short) is, please visit http://www.thermomix.com.au/.
It all started with one of those "what are you doing on the weekend" conversations with a colleague. I asked him what he was doing on the weekend, and he told me he was attending a cooking demonstration using the TM. He explained what this was, and referred me to the address above. A food processor that replaces 10 separate kitchen appliances, and also cooks! It sounded too good to be true. So, I ordered a home demo.
The home demo was awesome! The demonstrator, E, made sorbet, chopped coleslaw and blended dip in under a minute each. She kneaded bread in 2 minutes, and cooked the most delicious custard in 7! Then, to top it all off, E made the nicest vegetable risotto I've ever had in 20 minutes! I was completely sold!
It was all so easy and so delicious that I decided that if I could have a go myself at using the TM, and liked the results I was able to achieve with it, I would order one.
A week and a half later, E came to my house with the TM. We had decided to cook beef stir fry.
I should backtrack a bit here, and say that I am totally blind, and absolutely hate anything to do with cooking. I burnt myself when I was young, and have always been terified of heat, so have never been able to use the stove, electric frypan etc. I can use the microwave, but have never been happy with the results when cooking meat, especially beef.
Consequently, I have absolutely no confidence in the kitchen. E was the perfect person to help me make my first stir fry, as she absolutely exuded calm. Nothing was a problem - not even the mess I made!
Anyway, getting back to the stir fry, It was so easy. I mixed up the marinade, poured it over the cut up meat and julienned the vegies (a new experience for me).
Then, I chopped the ginger and garlic in the TM, a simple matter of turning a dial to the right speed (with E's help), and cooked it with a press of a few buttons - easy! The bowl didn't even get hot! The smell of the ginger and garlic cooking was fantastic, and I was able to stand and listen to it sizzle without being afraid, as it was all safely contained in the lidded bowl.
Then I added the beef, and then after a few minutes of cooking, added the vegies. After 2 more minutes, it was done! It was delicious, and my house was filled with a delightful cooking smell - a first!
This was the first thing I had ever cooked without yelling, tears or alcohol, and the first thing I had ever cooked that tasted really good. I can't wait for my TM!!!
It all started with one of those "what are you doing on the weekend" conversations with a colleague. I asked him what he was doing on the weekend, and he told me he was attending a cooking demonstration using the TM. He explained what this was, and referred me to the address above. A food processor that replaces 10 separate kitchen appliances, and also cooks! It sounded too good to be true. So, I ordered a home demo.
The home demo was awesome! The demonstrator, E, made sorbet, chopped coleslaw and blended dip in under a minute each. She kneaded bread in 2 minutes, and cooked the most delicious custard in 7! Then, to top it all off, E made the nicest vegetable risotto I've ever had in 20 minutes! I was completely sold!
It was all so easy and so delicious that I decided that if I could have a go myself at using the TM, and liked the results I was able to achieve with it, I would order one.
A week and a half later, E came to my house with the TM. We had decided to cook beef stir fry.
I should backtrack a bit here, and say that I am totally blind, and absolutely hate anything to do with cooking. I burnt myself when I was young, and have always been terified of heat, so have never been able to use the stove, electric frypan etc. I can use the microwave, but have never been happy with the results when cooking meat, especially beef.
Consequently, I have absolutely no confidence in the kitchen. E was the perfect person to help me make my first stir fry, as she absolutely exuded calm. Nothing was a problem - not even the mess I made!
Anyway, getting back to the stir fry, It was so easy. I mixed up the marinade, poured it over the cut up meat and julienned the vegies (a new experience for me).
Then, I chopped the ginger and garlic in the TM, a simple matter of turning a dial to the right speed (with E's help), and cooked it with a press of a few buttons - easy! The bowl didn't even get hot! The smell of the ginger and garlic cooking was fantastic, and I was able to stand and listen to it sizzle without being afraid, as it was all safely contained in the lidded bowl.
Then I added the beef, and then after a few minutes of cooking, added the vegies. After 2 more minutes, it was done! It was delicious, and my house was filled with a delightful cooking smell - a first!
This was the first thing I had ever cooked without yelling, tears or alcohol, and the first thing I had ever cooked that tasted really good. I can't wait for my TM!!!
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